August 4, 2005

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:

Regional Coverage

Test security given mostly high marks
The Fort Worth Star Telegram (Texas)
The Texas Education Agency reported Wednesday that a review of test security procedures shows that the state's testing system is among the most secure in the nation but still has room for improvement. TEA hired Greg Cizek, a professor of educational measurement and evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to assess its testing program.
Related Link: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/education/3295635

State & Local Coverage

Budget impasse turns on tuition
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The battle over who gets to set tuition at the state's two largest universities has put the brakes on a budget agreement this week in the legislature. ...Senate leaders want to give UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University the ability to raise their own tuition, within limits, without going through the governing board of the University of North Carolina system.

More competitive flagships (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The recent action by the state Senate to grant to UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University the right to determine tuition determine tuition and to attract more outstanding students through scholarships to out-of-state residents at in-state rates is a good basic platform to advance the academic programs at these research universities in the face of stiff competition. ...I believe we can meet the challenges ahead while maintaining our current unified system, but it will require more flexibility and the abandonment of a one-size-fits-all approach.
Note: This article is not available online.

A burden for in-state students (Opinion-editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The state appropriations bill for 2005-07 as passed by the Senate -- but not by the House of Representatives -- would declare by law that every non-resident full scholarship undergraduate in any of the 16 institutions of the University of North Carolina system "shall be considered and treated for all purposes of The University...as a resident of North Carolina.' That difference between the two houses is now under consideration in the legislative conference committee. ...John L. Sanders is professor of public law and government, emeritus, at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Guard family support program may expand
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A new North Carolina program designed to give National Guard and reserve soldiers and their families more support could expand to the Triangle if the U.S. Senate approves $5 million for it next month. ...CSSP aims to connect military families with community resources they may not know about, said retired Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Doug Robertson, one of the program's directors and a professor at the UNC-CH School of Public Health.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/citizensoldier0605060905.htm

Children of Guard get program
The Fayetteville Observer
State education officials gave their approval Wednesday to a new program to help children whose parents are deployed with the National Guard. ...The grant was awarded as a response to the growing reliance on so-called citizen soldiers to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Gale Harbin, a professor of child development at UNC. She is also head of the Child and Youth Team of the Citizen-Soldier Support Program.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/citizensoldier0605060905.htm

New UNC medicine pay plan adds incentives
The Chapel Hill Herald
A new salary plan to be unveiled next year at UNC's School of Medicine will dangle cash as an incentive to professors who do great work. Administrators at the university's medical school have fine-tuned a new plan that will reward faculty members who meet certain goals while punishing them -- financially -- for falling short.

NC Memorial Hospital To Mark 60th Anniversary Of World War II's End
WFMY-TV (CBS, Greensboro)
"NC Memorial Hospital is operated for and by the people of North Carolina," said Dr. William L. Roper, chief executive officer of the University of North Carolina Health Care System and dean of the UNC School of Medicine. "This ceremony will serve as a reminder, both to those of us who work at UNC Hospitals and to all North Carolinians, of that very important mission."

Students can make difference if they have right motives
The Fayetteville Observer
Do college students still have the umph? Do they still have that vivacious and often contentious attitude that helps mold America’s progress as a nation? I’m serious. College students have the ability, unlike any other population, to get out and show their umph. ...John Hardin is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Issues & Trends

Ill schools likely to get expert help
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The state's worst-performing high schools will get extra help from special teams of experts under a rescue plan announced Wednesday by Gov. Mike Easley. ...Other resources that schools may be encouraged to tap include the New Schools Project, aimed at developing small, theme-based high schools; the UNC Center for School Leadership Development; and local colleges and universities.

College necessities are changing
The Greensboro News & Record
A section of Sarah Roach's bedroom has been designated the "dorm corner," piled with items destined for her dorm room at UNC--Chapel Hill. ...When it comes to packing for college, times have changed. Sure, students are still packing the extra-long sheets and shower caddies. But, for a generation that grew up with a number of technological advances, there also are laptop computers, cell phones and MP3 players.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.